Confessions of a Grandma

My credit card came overnight, no hassle involved at all.  What a pleasant surprise for me! I had the grapefruit tree in the yard taken out yesterday.  I kind of hate to get rid of another tree, but it is way too much work to take care of the tree and the fruit when I am not here all the time and I don't eat grapefruit very much and rarely drink the juice.  Fruit that falls on the ground and does not get picked up right away can attract rats.  I don't want to deal with that. Now there is a large spot of mildew on the back wall that is visible since the tree is gone.  I will have to spray that.  It's also time to weed and mulch the flower beds and shrubs around the property.  I have a stone walkway from the carport to the shed that does not seem to have anything under the stones but some dirt.  That means weeds pop up and ants burrow in.  I look at it and wonder how I should tackle that...or IF I should tackle that. The literacy program,...

It does not seem to fail that something happens to compromise my credit card when I am in Florida.  That means the hassle of closing it out and then waiting for a new one to arrive.  Then there is the hassle of activating a new card from my home phone when I am 1500+ miles away from that phone. It is a good thing sometimes to be tracked, though, creepy as it is.  Someone--more likely a nameless computer program--noticed that a $475 charge for make-up and beauty products popped up on my account.  A $47.50 dollar charge might have caused a minor blip, but the larger amount really deserved to set off alarms.  I tend to put everything on my charge card, pay it off once a month, and then use my points for something fun or frivolous.  Out of all those monthly expenses that go on the card, pretty darn little goes for make-up. Of course, if the nameless computer had been able to see my damaged face from a month ago, it might not thought anything amiss with my o...

Sea fog rolled through the neighbor hood Sunday night...so dense and so moist. Is it a cloud or a sponge?  At first I thought it was rain sweeping in when I looked out the door, but the couple walking by were not being drenched at all.  I could taste the salt in the air.  The light from the street light was refracted in the most eerie way and, later,  I saw the same glow over the city to the west. That kind of light could inspire a painting .  Oh, it did. 

Wednesday morning, I was walking on the beach.  The conditions were exactly what Mike always hoped to see.  As I got to his favorite shark tooth hunting territory, I was remembering how he could spend hours on such a morning scouring up and down that smallish stretch of beach. I have found teeth before, but I was never one of the dedicated hunters.  As I walked along, I spied a small shark's tooth and picked it up. Sorry about the quality. Since Mike and I continue to chat, I said, "It would nice of you to toss a big one up at my feet.  You know how how I love a sign." Don't judge until you have been there.  I really am not nearly as crazy-whacko as I may sometimes sound. And guess what:

Having my body battered in an accident has certainly taught me to be more cautious.  I also have to think that the yoga classes I have been taking are helping.  I really feel as though my balance has improved...and maybe not just in the physical sense. My bruises have faded.  I can still feel a small lump over my left eye, another on my lip.  My face is tender just under the left cheek bone but it doesn't seem swollen.  My left knee is still my souvenir of the smash on the pavement.  It still needs time to heal.  I am really hoping it is not going to be one of those weather-predicting joints.  Nothing was torn or broken but the swelling is still evident and it really does not like dampness right now. The folks at the ER had given me a name of a doctor to contact for follow-up.  I really didn't feel the need, but his office called and I decided to make an appointment just to establish myself as a patient with a doctor here in Florida. I w...

Google image I wish that I had thought to take a picture of the pile of prescription drugs Mike had accumulated last summer.  I do not even have the list with me here, but he was taking pills for blood pressure, heart rate, stroke prevention, cholesterol, GERD, and probably a couple of other things that don't come to mind right now.  He was taking pills to mitigate the side effects of some of the other pills.  And, my, my, he had plans with that stash of viagra.  Then he had about three different medications for gout symptoms, two different prescription narcotic pain killers. and a very expensive cream for skin cancer lesions on his head. He had reordered a three month supply just before he went into hospital and many of the bottles were never even opened.  There were A LOT of pills in his drawer. He used an on-line pharmacy.  I called them.  They would not take anything back even if it had not been opened.  I went to the local pharmac...

It has been a few years since the city of Venice turned a desolate looking waste water treatment site into a lovely park area. I took a walk around with camera in hand.  The park is located between the Venice fishing pier and the Paw Park. You can see that it was a gorgeous day for such a walk.  Don't hate me because I say winter is my favorite season. I didn't happen to spot an alligator this time.

Do you listen to Tom Brokaw's radio spot, An American Story?   He announced to listeners that he has an "incurable but treatable" type of lung cancer.  This was also on the television news, but his radio spot  included tips for connecting with friends and family who may have the "full time job" that is cancer. His spot this morning caught my attention.  It was about "there's a pill for that."  In this case, the announcement was a pill that scientists are hopeful will work in the brain in such a way that will stimulate language learning in adults AND/OR will allow musical abilities to flourish.  Being tone deaf and unable to carry a tune in a bucket, as they say, I am quite excited. Tom wasn't impressed though.  He wants a pill that would enable him to slam dunk a basketball. Maybe we should just stick to our own God-given talents. Well, of course, somebody's  God-given talent is developing pills to fix the rest of us...so I guess I ...

I have recently had dreams in which I am entering a house.  I open the front door and flocks of birds fly out.  Last night, as part of the dream, i was thinking, "Well, these birds just keep getting into the house somehow so I better check out how they can be doing that."  I found a broken window and called my brother to help me fix it. Since I have had the dream a couple of times and since I seem to have been making the deja vu  connection even in my dream, I looked up a dream dictionary . I did not contact any of the earnest looking psychics wiling to chat with me, but I did find this interesting to think about: To see birds in your dream symbolize your goals, aspirations and hopes. To dream of chirping and/or flying birds, represent joy, harmony, ecstasy, balance, and love. It denotes a sunny outlook in life. You are experiencing spiritual freedom and psychological liberation. It is almost as if a weight has  lifted off your shoulders. To dream t...

Some of you wanted to know my opinion of the movie Nebraska. I thought it was really well done, deserving of its mostly high ratings in reviews.  My personal reaction can be summed up in one word--HEARTBREAKING. Bruce Dern plays Woody Grant of Billings, Montana, who has been notified of authorization to collect a prize of one million dollars (if....).   He is determined to go to Lincoln, Nebraska, to collect his money.  He doesn't trust the mail.  He will walk if he has to.  After his younger son fails to convince him the letter is only a come-on for selling magazines, he agrees to drive his father to Nebraska. The movie was heartbreaking to me first of all because as far as looks and also certain aspects of the curmudgeonly personality, I was watching Mike on the big screen.  Sweet and bitter torture.  Heartbreaking. When the trailer first came out, Mike's daughter texted me to google it.   Leave it to Dad to come back as Bruce Dern....

I enjoyed the visit with my sister-in-law last week--walking, talking, shopping, taking in a movie (Nebraska), and going out to eat. I had a left over rotisserie chicken, leftover salad greens, leftover vegetables.  So this week I have been eating...guess what?...leftovers! Chicken on a bed of baby greens topped with a farro , grape and apple salad.  There is a slice of avocado tossed in there as well. And I made a lovely chicken soup.  It was good today when I got home from the horse barn.  It was not so cold, but really quite windy.  Also, it was a particularly large and a particularly, shall we say, energetic group today.  Team literacy was wiped out by the end of the morning; I can tell you that.  Whew! So a hot shower and a hot bowl of soup were two very good things.

Of course the weather was perfect the day after my sister-in-law went home The beach was crowded with early morning beach goers. High tide was taking a bite out of the sandy shore. This is what Mike always referred to as the "dead tree."  It had fallen over about seven years ago and there really is not too much left of it now, but it was a land mark for us.  Mike always had the best luck finding sharks' teeth near it.  When I would walk to the beach to meet him after his early morning hunting, this is where I would meet up with him and we would walk the mile and a half back to the parking lot together.  I was greeted there today by a large dolphin maybe fifty yards off shore.  A shout out from Mike. Another half mile down the beach, two new dead trees, Causarinas.  I was sorry to see their demise even though they do drop sharp little cones. South Venice Beach Access--by ferry. It looks kind of deserted, but it really was no...

Okay, a friend sent me this some time ago--a way to separate egg yolks from the whites. The video is a must see:  youtube.com/embed/iAp8pEaWB1Y . I finally got around to trying it and it really does work...plus it is really kind of fun to do! Get crackin'!

Mike's sister has been here for a visit and I have been having a wonderful time.  Perhaps in the week ahead, I will get back to my posting/commenting routine.  ENJOY!

Condolences to those in Bronco country, but congratulations to Sea Hawk fans. I understand the the young bucks wiped the floor with the old guys.  Linda Reeder and family...you must be over the moon!! I myself did not watch the game.  I clicked through the channels, but I guess I don't have the right channel programmed into my favorites list.  I was just waiting for Downton Abbey to start anyway. Mike knew even less about football than I.  He would not have been able to tell you it was a Broncos-Sea Hawks matchup.  He would be checking out the commercials on line right now though. ***** Some of you learn important stuff everyday.  I myself learned that there is such a thing as bitchy resting face.  Another thing to worry about.  I definitely have it...probably invented it.  People have felt free to tell me I look mean/angry all my life.  But I have  dimple when I smile so then that makes them feel bad.  (I guess that i...

My mother used to fight with me as a child to get me to eat eggs.  Scrambled, could choke them down, but in any other form--as in a yellow ball surrounded by whiteness--forget it.  Even worse if the yellow was jiggly and the white was runny.  Instant gag reflex. Now that I am a mature adult, I have made peace with eggs.  I have even found that eggs are just a wonderful foodstuff in my life of cooking for one. In all honesty, I still do not care all that much about facing an egg first thing in the morning, but I do prepare them for a simple supper or an easy lunch. This homemade fried brown rice with vegetables became a complete meal with the protein supplied by a topping of fried egg. It is no secret.  I really love avocados.  Really, really love avocados.  Avocados marry well with eggs. I like to mash a really ripe avocado with a little olive oil or some juice from the olive jar, salt, and pepper.  Stir some chopped hard boiled egg int...